Log Home Restoration: Winter Time Blues
There seems to be a misconception that log home finishing can not or should not be preformed during the winter months. That is true only to the extent that the same thing is true for the summer months.
Like a lot of things….
Moderation is the key.
Most people think during the spring and summer months seems to be the ideal time to apply stains and sealers. Thats fine. However….most manufactures require that the product not be applied to any surface usually above 90 degrees. (This number may change depending on the company.)
The key word is surface.
The ambient temperature can be 75 to 85 degrees or even cooler, but the surface of the logs in direct sunlight can be substantially higher. Far above the manufacture’s requirments. The extreme heat can cause the stain to evaporate quickly causing improper penetration into the wood. Also, the direct sunlight can cause “flashing.” This occurs when the carrier of the oils and pigment dry too fast leaving a film or coating on top of the wood instead of soaking into the wood. So on the hotter summer days, care must be taken when appling the finish. You may have to work on the shady side of the log home, or in the “cool” of the day to avoid the these problems. This holds true with latex (water based) stains as well.
On the other hand….
Most stain/sealer manufactures require the product be applied on average between 45 and 85 degrees. This number also varies depending on the manufacture. As with the extreme heat…extreme cold has its problems. The most obvious being freezing. This will definatly affect latex (water based) stains. Oil stains will not freeze (at least in the southeast) but they will thicken up. Also, in very cold weather it takes longer for the stain to absorb. This can be looked at in two ways. The cold will take the finish longer to dry making it more susceptible to rain . On the other hand, slower dry times will allow the oils to penetrate more deeply.. So it’s a trade off. The best time to apply any finish is when some common sense is applied first. For more information click here.
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Consider This When Sealing a Newly Constructed Log Home
Newly constructed log homes are usually stained and sealed as soon as the “dry in” is completed or shortly thereafter. Nothing wrong with that right? Well here are a few things that should be considered before applying a beautiful natural wood finish to your brand new log home. (Learn More)
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Log Home Restoration: Removing Latex Paint
This Log Home Restoration required media blasting removal of a fairly new coat of solid
latex paint. The “hot pink” had to go! Being a fresh coat, it was harder to remove than a finish several years old. Crushed glass was used to “cut ” the thick coat.
After a chlorine wash to kill any mold and mildew, a coarse sanding will smooth the rough profile caused by the media blasting. Only a light sanding with coarse paper is required. Sanding too smooth will prevent a penetrating stain from absorbing properly.
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Log Home Restoration: Proper Caulking
Log Home Restoration often requires repairing failing caulk. As seen in this picture, the caulking has separated. Usually this is caused by not using “backer rod” in the joint before applying the caulk. Backer rod acts as a filler to keep from filling the entire check (or crack) with caulking. But it’s main purpose is to keep the caulking from adhering to the back of the check.
The caulking needs only to adhere to the top and bottom of the check. In this way it has the ability to streach in two directions, up and down. If the caulk is adhered to the top, bottom and the back of the check, the elongation is greatly demished causing the caulk to tear loose and fail.
In this picture, the backer rod has been installed, the caulking applied and properly tooled into the check joint. Neat and clean joints make it easy to stain and blend the caulk into the wood. This properly applied caulking will last for several years to come. But…log homes require constant inspections to keep up with new checks as well as older checks that may need to be recaulked. If inspections are preformed bi-anually and caulking issuses addressed early on, the maintenance can be kept at a manageable level. If you wait too long, maintenance issuses can become overwhelming making your log home a burden rather than an exciting log home experence.
Make a maintenance “checklist” and and use it. Make notes of anything unusual and keep an eye on it. The next time you do your inspection go back and check to see if anything has changed or gotten worse. Make repairs as needed and don’t put it off. It don’t take long for insects or wood rot to do major damage. It is much eaiser to make repairs early on than to wait until a log has to be replaced.
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Log Home Restoration: Mill Glaze and Mildew
Before Mildew Removal
This log home restoration was actually a newly constructed home left too long to the elements before sealing.
The disadvantage of waiting is obvious. However, a few things should be considered. First, newly constructed homes are often built with “green logs.” There is also a good chance they were recently milled. What this means to the homeowner is the wood is wet, tight grained and has “mill glaze.”
All three of these will prevent a sealer from properly penetrating and result in premature finish failure. Oftentimes this is unavoidable due to the manufacture’s building requirements or sometimes bank loan requirements.
Thats the bad news. The good news is, properly cleaning the logs will eliminate two of the problems. Time is the only way to solve the ”green”, wet log problem.
This log home was left to the elements for over a year. Mildew had covered most of the north side walls and the others had grayed out. In this situation a good cleaning will prepare the logs for sealing.
We used a solution of 12% chlorine/TSP solution applied with a sprayer starting from the bottom up. Always start at the bottom. If you start at the top and work down, you will end up with streaked logs that are hard to remove causing much unneeded work.
Once applied, it is allowed to dwell for a predetermined length of time. A light mist is applied to areas that begin to dry so as to keep the solution working. If it dries on the wood, you will have unwanted problems that could and should have been avoided.
Once the dwell time is met, a pressure washer is used to remove the mildew, mill glaze and dirt. It should be mentioned that the pressure washer is used more for water volume rather than water pressure. A pressure washer in untrained hands can do irreversible damage to wood. Under 1000 psi…. preferably 5oo to 600 is ideal. To give a comparison, the typical car was is around 1500.
Once the logs have been cleaned and rinsed, the job is NOT finished. I emphasize not because the next step is just as important as the cleaning but more often than not, it is overlooked or just plain ignored for financial reasons.
The next step is neutralizing the wood. I like to describe the reason for neutralizing as……if you have ever gotten bleach on your fingers and tried to rinse it off, you found it very slippery and hard to remove. The same is true when any kind of cleaner or stripper is used on wood. If caustic chemicals remain in the wood, it can and will react with the newly applied finish resulting in poor performance.
Copious amounts of water can be used to rinse the wood, but unless you test the wood with ph strips, you may or may not completely remove the entire chemical residue. When it is neutralized, it is very easily rinsed off using a small amount of water and you will be certain any chemical residue has successfully been removed.
As seen in the picture below, (the dark areas are wet wood from recent cleaning) the wood is clean and free of mildew, mill glaze and dirt. After the wood dries (to at least 18% moisture content) it is ready to accept the new finish.
After Mildew Removal
The neutralizing process is not hard. It does take more time, but the benefits far out weigh that and any associated costs. Moreover, if it will help the finish last longer, surely it is well worth it.
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A Bit of a Challenge
This 6000 square foot log home was a challenge. Why? Because there was absolutly no shade, we were applying a latex semi-transparent stain, it was four coats and in the middle of July.
The heat was not so much of the problem as the sun beating down on the logs. A latex stain will dry way too fast if applied in direct sunlight anytime. Add 95 degrees temperature and up and you better find some shade.
So, we worked around the house…. as the sun moved….so did we, staying on the shady side. It was still hot, but the logs were cool enough to accept the stain and have time to absorb into the wood.
All in all….it went pretty well…..a little slow, but it was done right, the customer was happy….and if the customer is happy……..
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Chinking Problems
This chinking was only a few years old. The product was a quality product. The problem however was twofold. First, the backer was a type of styrofoam that the chinking stuck to making it unable to move with the logs. Logs will expand, shrink and settle over time, therefore the chinking must be able to move as well.
With the proper backer it allows the chinking to adhere to the top and bottom of the logs only so that it only has to stretch two ways, up and down. It is not restricted by being attacthed to the face of the backer.
Second. the applacation was too thin. Most of the chinking was paper thin, 1/16 inch or less. To have enough elasticity to move between such a wide gap (4 inches), a thickness of 3/8 to 1/2 inch is recommended. This will allow the chinking to act like a rubber band. As it stretchs, it get thinner, and as in this case, too thin, and it will break.
So, correct intallation of backer rod and proper applacation of the chinking is important if it is expected to last. Proper chinking can get expensive because it is slow tedious work. But if it is rushed to save money, it will show down the road. This is another….You get what you pay for.
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